Perlas out to defy odds in Asian tilt

Perlas Pilipinas hopes to make up for speed and quickness what it lacked in height and experience when it bids in the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup in Bangalore, India next week.

It’s the first time the Filipina cagebelles under coach Patrick Aquino will be seeing action against the finest women’s teams in the region following their stunning promotion to Level 1 during the 2015 FIBA Women’s Asian Championship in Wuhan, China.

The campaign is expected to be a tough one where the country is bracketed in Group B along with South Korea, Australia, and defending champion Japan led by Ramu Tokashiki, who plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.

Group A meanwhile, is composed of New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, North Korea, and China.

Being new at such level of competition, Aquino is aware the team will be at a disadvantage as far as experience is concerned, a factor which he hopes the Filipinas could counter with their quickness and athleticism.

“We’re much faster because we’re smaller. As far as talent is concerned, hindi naman talaga nagkakalayo,” said the Perlas Pilipinas coach in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel.